A Lake County sheriff’s deputy who worked at the jail has died after testing positive for the COVID-19 virus.
Master Dep. Lynn Jones, who would have celebrated his 13th anniversary with the sheriff’s office on Thursday, died at his home in Orange County earlier this week.
While his official cause of death hasn’t been determined, Jones tested positive for the Coronavirus June 13 and had been in isolation at his home since them. He was among 130 cases that have been identified at the jail – 111 inmates and 19 employees – since testing began at the facility on June 4.
As of Friday, five jail employees were hospitalized with the Coronavirus. The sheriff’s office reported having 57 patients on June 12, 100 five days later and 119 this past Monday.
Sheriff Peyton Grinnell announced Jones’ death on the sheriff’s office’s Facebook page on Wednesday. Described as a deputy who worked “diligently” to supervise inmates during his shifts at the jail, Grinnell asked everyone to keep Jones’ family and co-workers in their thoughts and prayers during such a difficult time.
Jones also served as a member of the sheriff’s office’s Honor Guard and routinely worked as support staff at DUI checkpoints and sexual predator sting operations to transport arrestees to the jail. He was described as “hard-working employee with great interpersonal skills who led by example.”
Jones is survived by his wife, Felisia and their three daughters, Shaylynn, Kandace and Jada. His funeral arrangements haven’t yet been released.